Gene, what we did may not be to your liking but it worked perfectly for us.

We got up early (had a driver pick us up at the dock in Shanghai)and caught an early flight to Xian. I had a pre-arranged guide who met our flight at the airport and whisked us off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. We spent approximately 3 hours there, had lunch on our way back to the airport at a restaurant of his choice (delicious). We opted not to overnight in Xian since the Warriors was only what we wanted to see.

We then flew directly from Xian to Beijing for our 1st night. Again we were greeted and picked up at the airport and went directly to our hotel. It was nice to relax and have a nice quiet dinner in the hotel knowing we'd have 2 very full days touring Beijing with Jane. The following 2 mornings we were picked up around 9:00 and spent the entire day out and about seeing the sights. The 4th morning we flew from Beijing to Hong Kong where we re-boarded the Voyager. The ship was scheduled to overnight in Hong Kong so it was comforting knowing that we wouldn't miss the ship should our flight have been delayed etc.

I arranged both guides, the flights and the hotel myself. The entire trip cost LESS than $ 1/2 of what Regent was charging for 1 person to go to either Xian or Beijing (you had to choose 1 city or the other).

Tom and I do well travelling independently so it was the best option for us and very doable with just a small carry-on bag. It wasn't that hectic either and the only way we could see both cities in the time span we had. Since your WC segment is concluding, you can spend more time in various cities than we could. I think you're in for a real treat whatever you decide.

P.S. We had previously been to both Shanghai and Hong Kong so we didn't feel we were sacrificing those cities.